Bedfellows
by BlossomPrincess16
Summary: ANBU didn't have relationships, they have bedfellows. Of course, Sakura never thought that her bedfellow would end up being one of the most dangerous ninjas to come out of Konoha. Itachi x Sakura - Nonmassacre - Rated M
1. Chapter 1

Sakura's head fell back against her pillow, breath coming out in short pants. Her bedfellow flopped down beside her and if she had any energy left she would have grinned at how ungraceful the male was. Normally she would have said grace was his middle name, but it thrilled her that time in her bed would render him unable to use his shinobi skills.

Their arms touched, but no words were said as they both laid there trying to calm their breathing. Tiredly she moved her head to take in the sight of the toned man, inky black hair spilling over the pillow. It wasn't the first time he visited her bed, but she got a thrill every time he climbed through her window, tight black ANBU uniform clinging to his toned muscles.

Onyx eyes found hers and she gave him a tired smile before turning over and laying her head in his chest, masculine arm coming up to rest around her back. She wouldn't try and fool herself into believing he had feelings for her, but what they fit perfectly into her life. Due to her having made ANBU two years ago as a medic they were able to speak about missions they both went on, and had even on occasion been placed on the same team.

"You leave tomorrow?" His deep voice rumbled, and she felt more than heard his question.

"Yep. Meeting at the gates at six." She was scheduled to go on a simple escort mission with her old team since Kakashi decided that she needed a break.

It was like the pot calling the kettle black.

His fingers made little designs on her shoulder blade, and between that and the rise and fall of his chest made her eyes grow heavy.

Somehow the comforter was pulled over their naked bodies and she took at as a sign that he was staying the night, so she finally closed her eyes and drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

The next morning she woke alone, which didn't surprise her in the least. Usually he would come see her as soon as he made his way back into the village and stay the night, before leaving way before dawn to go home.

She squinted at the alarm and sighed when she realized that she only had half an hour to get ready to meet her team. Years ago she didn't have to worry if she was a little late, but since Kakashi had taken over as Hokage her excuse ceased to exist.

Tiredly she drugged her body out of bed and into the bathroom, groaning when she saw the bright red hicky on her collarbone. Thankfully being a medic she was able to quickly heal the offensive mark, but she made a mental note to make sure she paid him back.

And she would _not_ heal it for him.

Twenty minutes later she made her way to the gates, grinning when she saw that she was the first to arrive. She had just sat her pack down when three masked ANBU ran past her, one bumping into her shoulder. It startled her that they were in such a hurry that they couldn't miss her, but then she realized that a piece of paper had been tucked into her Jounin vest.

 _What?_ She thought as she reached up and pulled the slip of paper, starting to open it until Naruto's loud voice boomed from behind her.

"Oi, Sakura-chan!"

"Don't be so loud, Naruto!" And there was the other third of her original team, trying to shush the loud mouth as per usual.

She discreetly slid the small slip of paper up her sleeve as she turned around and rolled her eyes. Nothing had changed with the two of them, save for their height.

Okay, maybe they filled out a bit as well, but their maturity was still very much the same and she couldn't help but smile. Normally she didn't get the chance to take many mission with her boys, due to neither one of them being ANBU.

Oh don't get her wrong, it wasn't because they didn't try, but more so because their inability to work with others. For some reason they both had this insane need to always be the leader and always be right and that didn't work well with ANBU. So stuck as jonins they were.

"Please tell me this isn't how the entire mission is going to go." She loved her boys, but years of working with highly trained operatives left her with little patience for stupid bickering.

"What?" The dumbfounded look on that blonde's face made her laugh outright. They may be knuckleheads, but there wasn't ever a dull moment.

A few minutes later they set off, speeding through the trees, intent on reaching the mining town by nightfall. Their mission was simple, escort the leader of the town to the Fire Country mining expo and insure his safety while there. The whole thing should only take four days, and was more of a vacation than anything. She knew Kakashi thought she pushed herself too hard, with ANBU mission as well as shifts at the hospital, but it was the only life she knew.

As she bounced from branch to branch she thought back to the dark haired male who she had fallen asleep beside the night before. Maybe that's why he fit into her life so well; he was just as busy and driven as she was. As an ANBU captain he worked harder than most, and she knew it was him who placed the paper in her vest. That meant that he got home from one mission yesterday and left on another that morning; the thought causing her to worry if he had gotten enough rest.

Not that he would pay any attention to her worry, because like last time he'd simply raise a dark brow at her and comment on her own insane schedule.

Near noon she signaled for the boys to meet in on the forest floor, deciding that now was as good of a time as any for a break. She knew that her being the leader of the mission probably didn't set well with the two jonins, but it's how it always worked when they did pair up.

Sasuke appeared first, slinging his pack from his shoulders as the blonde hopped down beside him. She grinned as he pulled three wrapped boxes from the black bag, knowing his mom had prepared their team lunches.

"Yes!" She said as she first pumped the air, causing Sasuke to roll his eyes at her display.

Hey, he got to eat Mikoto's food all the time, but she only did when they had a mission together or the Uchiha Matriarch forced the younger son to invite his team to dinner.

All three tucked in with gusto, glade to have such a tasty meal in the stomachs before making their way to their destination.

Unsurprisingly, Naruto finished his lunch first, laying the empty bento box down and flopping to his back. "Oi, I'm stuffed!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes before picking up the last bit of fish from his own lunch. "You say that now, but in less than an hour you'll be complaining of hunger once again."

Naruto sat up, glaring at the dark haired male. "Sasuke!"

Sakura chuckled, amused at how they still managed to have the same argument every time they went out on a mission.

"Dobe."

And there it was, the reason neither one of them had made it into the elites yet. Naruto got up and jumped in Sasuke, who in turn twisted around and slammed the blonde into the ground.

"Boys!" She halfway found it amusing, but mostly it irritated her that they couldn't wait until they were back home to squabble.

Neither stopped or made any sign that they heard her, so she decided to use their stupidity to her advantage and go find somewhere private to read the note her dark haired lover had slipped to her. She was sure it wasn't much, but it gave her butterflies all the same.

Finding a small clearing she sat back down on the ground and pulled the paper from her sleeve, opening the now beat up note.

 _More to mission than meets the eye._

 _Be careful._

Great, now she knew her vacation of a mission would most likely end up being far more serious. She suspected that his team had been sent out near the area she would be in, which meant there was more going on than a mining expo.

Tucking the note into one of her vest pockets she made her way back to her team, not surprised the find then still grappling on the floor.

"Guys!"

Both jerked and froze, looking around until their eyes landed in their pink haired teammate.

"Come on, it's time to head out. I want to get to our location by nightfall." She turned and picked up her bag, dusting the small amount of dirt off the bottom.

"You don't have to be so bossy." She knew it was Naruto who grumbled and she took a deep breathe before turning around with a menacing smile on her lips.

"Naruto-kun, did you forget that I'm the leader of this team?"

Sasuke scoffed, and she brought her gaze to the other third of her team. "Maybe if you showed some maturity you'd find yourself getting closer to your brother's level."

Oh, she knew good and well that it was a low blow, but they had this argument every mission they went on together. She knew it was hard for both of them to still not have made it into the Black Ops, but it was through no ones fault but their own. She had tried to tell them on several occasions that it wasn't their talent that held them back, but rather their attitude.

You didn't have the ability to bicker in ANBU.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed to slits at her jab. "I'd rather never make it into ANBU than have to walk around like I had a giant stick up my ass."

Sakura rolled her eyes, which she found herself doing a lot recently. "It's time to go, let's move out."

It was at sunset when the trio made their way through the gates of the town, the leader meeting them with his own security. It gave Sakura some pause, as she could sense that his guards were shinobi, and she filed the information away to ponder at once they had their rooms.

"Ah, Konoha shinobi! Thank you so much for coming!" His enthusiasm was forced, but she couldn't be sure if it was because he was tired or if he was uneasy in their presence.

"Hai, Shinjo-san. This is Naruto, Sasuke, and I am Sakura." She gestured to each person as she spoke, knowing that most likely he would forget or at least jumble up their names at some point.

"Sakura! What an appropriate name for such a beautiful woman!" She felt her eyebrows twitch in annoyance, but chose to overlook it.

Thankfully the other two chose to do the same.

"Thank you, Shinjo-san. Do you have need for us tonight?"

His fake smile faltered a smidge before he answered. "No, I'll have Mina show you to your rooms. I want to head out at daybreak tomorrow; will that be a problem?"

"Not at all. We will be here waiting when you are ready."

He nodded and then a small woman appeared beside him, "Ah, he is Mina!"

He turned to her, patting the young woman on the shoulder. "Mina-chan, will you please show our guests to their rooms and see if there is anything they need?"

She nodded, the action causing her dark hair to sway. "Right away, Shinjo-sama."

She gestured towards the group, beckoning them to follow her.

"Until tomorrow, Konoha shinobi!" The man would end up getting on her nerves, but about fifty percent of the time someone did.

Together they followed the dark haired woman until she let them into a large building. Sakura assumed it was used for foreign visitors and thankfully the cool air of the place hit her as soon as she walked in. August in Fire Country could be a killer and sometimes the places she stayed didn't have the best air conditioning.

She led them down the hall and to a group of rooms. "These three rooms are yours. Is there anything you need before you retire?"

"No, thank you Misa-san."

The woman nodded before unlocking the doors. "I bid you a good night." She left before Sakura could say anything, so she exchanged a look with her team.

"Meet out in the hall at 5am sharp; we don't want to be late." They both nodded at her and then they slipped into their rooms, all three exhausted and ready for some sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_This was the day. From. Hell._

First off, it was hot. And not just regularly hot, but the type where you step outside and your clothes stick to you and sweat runs down your back.

Secondly, their lovely charge had failed to disclose the fact that he had been targeted for ransom multiple times before they arrived, which would explain why not three miles outside the village they had been attacked.

And lastly, she sensed the presence of other shinobi lurking around them as they made their way back, which meant that he wasn't just being targeted by petty criminals but by ninja as well.

 _Which meant he had a lot more going on than mining._

They had made it to the convention on schedule and thankfully it had gone smoothly, though she still felt the presence of chakra from somewhere in the distance. It made her unable to relax and she knew the boys felt the same way. They had been on high alert the entire time they were at the convention and it hadn't eased as they escorted the man back to his home.

But did that stop Naruto from complaining about the heat?

"Ba Sakura-chan, as excited as I am to finally be on a mission with you again, I could have skipped out on this one if I had known it would be this hot." She glanced behind her at the blonde ninja who had actually taken off his orange jacket and tied it around his waist, leaving him in a black short sleeve cotton tshirt.

Sasuke grunted, his was of acknowledging that he agreed.

"Look, we're shinobi and a little heat shouldn't be unbearable." Of course it _felt_ unbearable, but she wouldn't ever give them the satisfaction of hearing that from her.

Naruto groaned behind her and she had to hide her grin from him; it just all felt so nostalgic.

Her mirth died a moment later when the presence she had felt all along moved in closer.

"Naruto, Sasuke..."

"I feel it." She looked back and saw Sasuke activate his sharingan and Naruto eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Let's not make it obvious that we know their there just in case they have no intention of attacking." She knew they did, but maybe they'd find them ignorant and assume they were weak.

Sakura held back, letting the two men keep the lead as she waited for Shinjo and his guard to make their way. She had been taking the rear for most of the journey, but had moved up to the front to converse with her team. She kept a cheery smile on her face as they approached, not wanting to make the react in any way that would alert those following them that they knew they were there.

"Shinjo-san, there may be an issue, but please don't let your facial expressions to show what I'm telling you." The man momentarily froze, but loosened up quickly, which Sakura was thankful for. "Make sure your guard doesn't leave your side and leave the rest to me and my team." He nodded, as did the captain of his guard. For the first time she was glad that they were ex ninja, for it would come in handy if fighting did break out.

She wanted to question what he was hiding, as normal business men weren't usually targeted by this large of a group - especially when the caliber of the men and women in the group was high. She could feel chakra signatures all around here and silently cussed at how many there were.

 _Twenty against three, not the best odds I've ever had, especially since I don't know how much help his guard would be._

Suddenly they were surrounded by half of the group and she dropped down into a defensive stance. She glanced over at the man and his guard, who thankfully had formed a tight barrier around him, and then at the other two members of her own team, who had dropped into the same posture as she had.

"Well, well, if you didn't send for backup, Shinjo-kun." The man who spoke stepped forward, his blonde hair shining in the sunlight. "Too bad it won't help you."

All at once they attacked, forcing Sakura to draw out a kunai to block the flying knives that had been thrown her way. She caught one midair and flung it back, hitting its target with a thump as the man when down.

 _One down, nineteen more to go._

Her team had closed in on their charge, fending off as many as possible, and leaving it to his guard to take care of the rest. Sadly, as she looked over, they weren't the highest of caliber and all but two had fallen. She channeled chakra to her fist and slammed one guy in the chest, feeling his ribs crack, and turned around to do the same to the next, only catching the woman in the head. Soon, the first nine had been dispatched, and the leader whistled loudly, summoning the remaining rouges forward.

Glancing over she saw that both Sasuke and Naruto were unharmed, but both were panting at a dangerous rate. She then saw that they both had senbon protruding from their arms and she cussed loudly as she realized they had been poisoned.

As quickly as she had deduced that they had been poisoned she felt the prick as a senbon landed in her thigh. She pulled it out as the next wave of enemies came, sending healing chakra to break down the poison that had entered her system. She realized that the next group was hanging back, most likely waiting for the poison to take effect, and she used that to her advantage.

Making her way over to the two panting men she laid her hands on their back, hoping that she could get to the poison and break it down before it did too much damage. She needed to act quick, because as soon as they realized she was a medic they moved forward to attack once more.

She pulled her hands back and allowed the two men to pull out their weapons once more, sending up a silent prayer that they could take care of this before her teammates fell.

Before the group could attack three masked ANBU hopped down in front of her team and her heart sang as she realized it was _her_ ANBU team. The team she was most often assigned to when she took ANBU missions.

"Relax, Team Seven, we've got you." The man who spoke sent shivers down her spine, but she didn't let it show.

Falling back into the medics position, she moved to finish healing her two injured teammates as the new arrivals took care of the rest of their enemy. Sometimes when she was out with ANBU she longed to jump into the fight, but she knew even if she was _allowed_ to fight, didn't always mean she should. It was a hard lesson to learn after she awakened her seal, but she found over time she didn't need to keep proving her worth - especially not with the team currently fighting.

"Sit down you two, before you make the poison move any faster through your system." She knew they hated being taken out of the fight, especially once Sasuke recognized his brother as one of the ANBU. He still felt the need to prove himself, though all he had to do was calm down a little and he'd have the same position as Itachi.

Well, maybe not as captain, but ANBU.

"Ne, Sasuke, calm down." She could feel his irritation at having been "saved" by his brother once again, even though if they would have had to, they could have finished the job.

Looking back at the last remaining enemy being struck down she was thankful that they hadn't had to resort to that, though their appearance made her even more curious as to what this Shinjo was hiding.

"Sakura-san, how much more healing will they need?" She looked up and gave the masked man a small smile.

"A few more minutes. The poison wasn't very strong, so thankfully it hadn't made its way to do too much damage yet."

"Ah, Sakura-chan, I could watch you bash in a mans chest cavity any day." She rolled her eyes at the familiar voice.

She watched as the ANBU captain made his way over to Shinjo, who sat shaking behind the numerous guards who had given their life for him.

"Shinjo-san, we will be continue to guard you until you reach the safety of your village."

The man nodded, almost as if he was in a trance, instead of opening his mouth.

Sakura finished up healing her old teammates before rising and dusting off her black pants. "So, how long have you been trailing us?" She directed the question towards the captain, raising a pink brow.

"Since you left the gates. Kakashi-sama was given word that there were a group of missing nin who planned on attacking your charge."

"Like we couldn't handle it ourselves." Grumbled Naruto, kicking the ground with his sandal.

"It looks like it." The voice, who had to be none other than Genma, came out teasing, though her teammates didn't take it that way.

"We could have! We'd already taken out half of them when you guys-"

"Shut up, Naruto!" She smacked him upside the head in irritation.

"Oi! Sakura-chan!" He yelped as he messaged his head.

"Let's go. We'll follow around you and once you make it back to his village we will depart."

Still grumbling Naruto nodded his head and picked up bus pack.

"Shinjo-san, we will not be able to transport your guards bodies, but we can move them out of the way and you can send other to collect them once you arrive home."

He looked up finally, glaring at the masked captain. "And who are you to give orders! I was attack!"

Sakura sighed and moved to collect her pack as well, making sure Sasuke did the same.

"I am the captain of ANBU team 3 and we were assigned to provide aid. As such, I hold higher rank and take command of your assigned team."

"I'm not paying for extra ninjas!"

She could tell by his posture that the ANBU captain wanted to kill the man. He was, if anything, protective of those he worked with and his brother added more of an intensity to that protective nature. She knew the man had lied about the danger to keep his cost low, but it no longer shocked her.

After all, it wasn't the first time.

"I couldn't care less if you were to perish, Shinjo-san. We weren't sent to protect you, but our own who's lives were in jeopardy due to you not disclosing the full extent of the danger you faced." He flicked his blade at that, flinging blood off before bending down to clean the remaining off on the grass.

"Come on, Shinjo-san, before we rethink protecting you the rest of the way." With that Sakura took off, rolling her eyes when the masked Genma yanked a strand of her hair as she walked by. Ever since she had joined their team on numerous occasions he had taken to teasing her, something that gave her endless reasons to roll her eyes.

"Sakura-san, you and your team be safe." The captain called as they walked by. She gave him a quick nod of acknowledgement before continuing on down the path, ready to be done with this particular mission.

..00..

"Home! Home sweet home!" Sakura called as she opened her apartment door and dropped her pack down on the floor. She would clean up later, but for now she wanted a shower and her bed.

"Do you celebrate every time you arrive home?"

She eeped when she realized she wasn't alone, spinning around to see her dark haired lover sitting on her couch.

"Oi! Stop doing that!" It wasn't the first time he had been waiting for her to arrive home, and he always seemed to like to wait to make his presence known until after she had said or done something embarrassing.

He laughed, the sound still foreign to her ears. "But I need to take whatever amusement I can get." He got up and walked over to her, stopping when he was almost on top of her. "Especially after I saved you."

She rolled her eyes and patted his shoulder before moving around him and making her way to the bathroom. "Not to be rude, but right now all I want to do is take a shower and go to sleep, Itachi. Can you save your teasing until after I've at least had a few hours of rest?"

He followed her as she moved about the small room, pulling a towel from the cabinet before starting the water. She ignored him as she pulled her shirt over her head and shimmied her pants down her toned legs, letting her parties follow before unwinding her bindings. She stepped into the warm water - not too hot, because it was already hot enough outside - and sighed as the water washed away the muck she had gathered from the mission.

She wasn't surprised when she felt Itachi join her, reaching around her to grab her soap.

"Are you going to help me wash off?" She asked playfully, tiring around to wrap her arms around his neck.

He grabbed her wash rag from the rack in the shower and poured the soap onto it, working it into a lather before slowing cleansing her back. "It kills two birds with one stone."

She arched a brow at him as he reached up to unwrap her arms from him, gently turning her so that her back was pressed to his front. He ran the rag over her arms, up to her collarbone and down to pass over her breasts. She closed her eyes and the feeling of the warm water and his warm chest caused her to relax and be turned on at the same time. There was something incredibly sensual about the fearless and deadly ANBU captain washing her off.

He bent down and nipped at her earlobe as he went farther down with the rag, swirling around her belly. She let out a small moan and pressed back into him as he finished washing her before moving her to rinse off the soap. He then reached down and turned the water off, pulling her out of the shower and wrapping her with a towel. She stared at the toned body of her lover, enjoying the way his lean muscles bunched as he moved to grab a towel for himself.

"You plan on staying a while?"

He reached over and pulled her close, tilting her head up so that her lips could meet his in an intense kiss. She loved the feeling of her bare breasts against his naked chest and pressed herself closer to the dark haired man. He in turn picked her up, never breaking the kiss and made his way to her bedroom, lowering her to the bed and following her down. He pulled away and hovered above her, rolling his hips into hers as she released a low moan.

"I've started too much to leave now."

After that thoughts of sleep vanished, thankfully, as she didn't fall asleep until much, much later.


	3. Chapter 3

"Sakura-channn!"

Sakura closed her eyes and braced herself as a familiar blond threw himself at her.

"Naruto!"

"Sakura-chan! It's been a whole month! Didn't you miss me?" Naruto and Sasuke had been sent on another escort mission, only this time it had been much longer than the previous disaster.

"I can't answer you're question if I can't breathe." He abruptly let her go and she took in a deep breath.

"Yes Naruto, I did miss your loud mouth." She grinned at his expression, full of happiness. "Did you and Sasuke just get back?"

"Yep! Oh, Sasuke! Didn't your mom say that she making dinner for us all tonight?"

 _Dinner? With Itachi's mom?_

It wouldn't be the first time, but she hadn't been sleeping with Mikoto's oldest baby.

Sasuke slowly came up to where they stood, hands in his pockets. "Yes. We stopped by as soon as we got back and she demanded to have us all over for dinner."

"Even that prick Itachi will be there." Naruto gave an eye roll, though she still didn't understand why he hated Itachi so much.

"Don't let him hear you say that, dummy." Thankfully she had been correcting Naruto's name calling for years, so all he did was scoff.

"He thinks he's so bad and better than everyone else! Like on our last mission together! We totally had it!"

"Dobe, shut up."

"Ah, Sasuke! You know it's true!"

"Regardless, I get tired of your mouth and I've had to listen to it for the last month." He turned to face Sakura. "Mom said to be there at 6 unless you have a shift or mission."

"Nope, nothing going on today, let her know I will be there. Do I need to bring anything?"

"I don't think so." Of course he wouldn't think to ask.

"Alright, let Mikoto-san know I'll be there at 6 and I'll bring a side dish."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Why ask me if you'll just bring something anyway?"

"Because your mom always loves when I bring my Mom's old recipes, but you always forget to tell me."

"What are you gonna bring, Sakura-chan?!"

She turned to Naruto and gave him a smile. "It's a surprise. If Sasuke could tell me what his mom is making I could plan a little better."

Ever since she started going over to the Uchiha's family home - back when she was 12 - she loved whatever Mikoto cooked. When she inherited her mother's things after her passing when she was 15, Sasuke's mom had tried to fill the void. They connected by cooking, though she'd never let any of her ANBU team know what liked to cook.

Heck, Itachi didn't even know.

Sasuke groaned. "How am I supposed to know? All she said was have Naruto and Sakura over for dinner."

"You'll never change, Sasuke-kun."

"Whatever. I'm gonna go home and get some sleep."

"Oi! Sasuke! What about ramen?!" Naruto scrunched his eyes up and crossed his arms, throughly irritated.

"No one's stopping you." He called out as he kept walking, leaving a pouting blonde with Sakura.

"Don't even think about it." She warned before Naruto could even ask her.

"Ah, but who's gonna eat with me?"

"Why don't you ask Hinata?"

He scrunched his brows up at her. "Why would I ask her? She never even talks!"

She sighed. "Never mind, you're a lost cause."

"But she doesn't!"

"Naruto, I'm going to go home and fix a side. I'll see you later." She patted his head - which required her to stretch up on her tip toes - and laughed as he groaned.

"I'm not five, Sakura-chan."

"I know, it would be a lot easier to pat your head if you were."

..00..

"Ah! Sakura-chan! It's been too long!" Mikoto gathered Sakura in a tight hug as soon as she opened the door to the Uchiha main home. Because Fugaku was the head of the clan they occupied the center home in the Uchiha district. It used to fascinate her the first few times she visited, but now she loved the feel the old home emitted.

"It has, Mikoto-san!" She returned the hug, having missed the company of the older woman.

"Geez mom, let her breathe." Mikoto sniffed and turned to face her youngest son.

"Sasuke, be a dear and take the bag that Sakura sat on the floor; we have some catching up to do."

Sasuke groaned, but did as he was told. People may fear the Uchiha, but it was well known who really held the power.

"Come, Sakura-chan, we have a few minutes before dinner is ready."

Sakura followed Mikoto the the family room, sitting down opposite of her on the couch.

"Itachi tells me that you've been doing really well with the missions you've been given." She knew that she had been assigned to the same ANBU team as her oldest son, and often asked him to keep an eye out for her.

Not that Sakura was supposed to know that, of course, but Itachi has let it slip a time or two.

"Well, if he thinks so then I must be!" She let out a laugh. "While most of the time he can be a slave driver, I've learned that when he pays a compliment then he means it."

Mikoto let out a bark of laughter. "That's the truth! He's stoic, my Itachi, but he only says what he means."

They spent a little while longer talking until Sasuke appeared in the doorway.

"Mom, Itachi just got home, but Dad's not back from his shift."

"Alright, everything should be done and your father already said that he may have to miss dinner." She turned to Sakura. "This is what Itachi's future wife has to look forward to." With that she laughed and got up from the sofa and made her way into the kitchen.

 _What?_

Sakura shook her head and got up as well, following behind Mikoto and a trailing Sasuke.

Thankfully, dinner didn't turn out as awkward as she feared. Itachi was as polite as he always had been, and Naruto and Sasuke still bickered as usual. A few times she had caught Mikoto looking at her in a strange way, but brushed it off as nothing.

After all, there was no way she knew that there was anything going on between her and her oldest son.

She stayed until after the sun had begun to set, and only left when Naruto offered to walk her home.

"I don't need anyone to walk me home, Naruto." She had grumbled under her breath.

He wrapped a golden arm around her and grinned. "But whenever I walk you home I pass by the ramen stand, and then I have an excuse as to why I stopped for food after dinner!"

She rolled her eyes, knowing she should have seen his answer coming.

"Sakura-san?"

She looked over her shoulder at Itachi, who stood at the doorway. "Yes, Itachi-san?" Thankfully she didn't have to call him taichou due to ANBU regulations, because that would have been weird.

And a little kinky. Maybe she should try that sometime.

"Don't forget we have training in the morning."

She nodded. "I didn't forget."

He nodded back and walked back into the house, and she and Naruto began the short walk to her apartment.

"I don't know how you work with him, Sakura-chan."

She looked up. "He's not that bad, you know."

He kicked some dirt up with his sandal. "That's not what Sasuke says."

"Sasuke and Itachi are brothers, Naruto. Brother's fight and bicker, but that doesn't mean either one is a bad person. Itachi's friends could easily say the same thing about Sasuke, but I doubt he talks to anyone that closely except for Shisui and he knows Sasuke well."

Naruto kept grumbling, but let it slide. She knew he wasn't the biggest fan of Itachi - heck, she hadn't been either until she joined ANBU - but it still got on her nerves when he kept bad mouthing him.

She loved Naruto, but he was like a dog with a bone when it came to certain things.

A few minutes later she had said her goodbyes to Naruto and made her way up to her apartment, flinging her sandals off as soon as she made her way through her door.

"You really should have a better place for your shoes."

She froze and slowly turned around to see Itachi, once again, sitting on her couch.

"How did you get here so quick?"

He raised a shoulder, but said nothing, as per usual. When she first began to spend time around Itachi she had thought he hated her because of how little he spoke, but Shisui assured her that he rarely even spoke to him.

She sighed and made her way to her kitchen to grab a water, thirsty for some reason. "Want anything?" She called over her shoulder.

"No."

She grabbed a bottle from the fridge and made her way to where he sat, plopping down next time him. "Not that I mind, but any particular reason you snuck into my apartment right after I left your house?"

He took the bottle from her hand and opened it, taking a drink before handing it back to her. She just rolled her eyes and sat the bottle on the table.

"Tonight marks two years that you have been part of my team."

She scrunched her eyebrows. "No it's not. I didn't join until a week from now."

"You we're officially offered the opportunity to join four days before that, and three before that I watched you save my brother's life. I approached Kakashi-sama that night about you joining my team, and he agreed, so technically it's been two years."

"You've never told me that before."

"There was no need. You didn't need to know why I wanted you to join, only that I did."

She picked to a pillow and smacked him. "Of course I did! Or at least I do now! I thought it was all for my medical skills."

He grabbed the pillow from her and placed it behind him. "Well, of course that helped, but it wasn't the main reason. You've gone from a weak child to a strong woman, and not just due to your medical skills."

She stared at him, not knowing what to say back.

"I'm glad you're part of my team, Sakura."

She smiled and huffed, not wanting him to know how much his words meant to her. "Only because I saved your ass a few months ago."

He finally cracked a smile, reaching out and pulling Sakura onto his lap. He ran a hand through her hair and pulled her chin down so he could hover his lips over hers. "Only because I let you save me."

Sakura smiled and ran a hand up his side. "Whatever."

His lips met hers forcefully, earning a groan from the pink haired woman. He twisted a fist in her hair and pulled, drawing his lips from hers and attaching them to her now exposed neck.

"Is this my reward?" She moaned, pressing down on Itachi.

He lifted his head from her neck and in one move lifted her from his lap and threw her over his shoulder, standing up in the process. She laughed and then moaned as he slapped her exposed backside. "Possibly."

 **..00..**

 **Gosh, I can't believe how many people have found this story! It started out as a fun little idea, but I'm quickly falling in love with it.**

 **Let me know what you think of this chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

I'm back! Sorry for the long hiatus, but I started a new job in September and then the holidays, but now I'm back! Hope everyone enjoys!

..00..

Sakura rested her head against the trunk of a tree, her ponytail getting caught in the bark as she tried to find a comfortable position.

"Oh Pinkey, still haven't learned that trees don't make good pillows?"

She slowly turned her head and gave Shisui a hard stare.

"I'd have a bed if someone didn't get us lost." She inwardly grinned when a blush swept across the man's face, and she knew she could tease him about this for quite some time.

"Don't tell anyone about this." She did laugh out loud at that, knowing that if anyone knew the great Shisui had gotten lost they would never let him live it down.

"Only if you stop calling me Pinkey." It has been an uphill battle with that stupid nickname, and even Itachi had taken to using it to irritate her.

"But it's so fitting!"

"Are you sure you're the Shisui I grew up hearing about?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you act like a child and gleefully love to annoy the crap out of me."

"Ah, it just means that you're one of us! You should see how I treated Itachi growing up!"

She smiled, knowing all too well how he had treated his cousin.

"Was it worse than how you treat him now?"

"Tons."

She laughed and pulled her pack to her lap, digging through to try and find one of her spare energy bars.

"Did your message get to Itachi and Genma?" Her team never bothered with titles or honorifics unless in the presence of others, something that she hadn't expected when she first joined the team.

"Yeah, he said that they would go ahead and scout around and meet us at the inn tomorrow afternoon. 'Tachi said that since we were making such good time we could afford to slow down and take another night at the inn and travel the rest of the way the next day. That'll still put us getting back two days before we're due."

She squealed, ignoring the laughter coming from her teammate, too glad that they wouldn't be traveling overnight.

"You want first or second watch?"

"Ugh, first - get some sleep lost boy." She ducked as rock came sailing towards her, laughing as she stood up and stretched.

She went to check the parameter, making sure they were truly alone in the area of the woods, before making her way back to camp. They didn't start a fire due to it still being an incredibly hot, something she groaned about to Ino before her and her team had taken off.

Shisui was fast asleep, though she knew if she made even the smallest of abnormal movements or sounds he would spring awake. As much as she hated being lost - _excuse me, turned around according to her teammate-_ she couldn't help but still love the feeling of being out on a mission. Until Itachi had wanted her to join his team she had begun to feel like she would be stuck in the hospital or as a traditional medic. Her seal allowed for her to do more, but it was hard to convince others if that.

And with Tsunada being out of the village for extended amounts of time she had begun to take on more and more of her work.

Her goal was to one day run the hospital, but she wanted tons of field experience before that happened. Knowing how teams operated and how wounds happened would better allow her to find new ways to heal - and new ways of teaching others who were out on the field. Being an active member of an ANBU team gave her an insight that many other medics would never get, especially with her not being sidelined as _just_ a medic.

Soon hours had passed and Shisui was shaking himself awake and yelling her to get some sleep, which she gratefully did.

Hours later they finally made it to the location of the inn, and by hours she meant that it was nearing evening when she finally opened to doors to the nice, cool building and made her way inside.

"We're here! We're finally here!"

"I knew you were prone to dramatics as a child, but I thought you had finally outgrow them."

Of course, her moment of joy had to be ruined by Itachi's sarcastic self. She turned her head and glared as she heard Shisui and Genma snickered behind her.

"Hilarious. You'd be _prone to dramatics_ as well if you had gotten lost in the forrest by your less than intelligent teammate."

"Hey! I'm very intelligent!"

"Sure you are, so intelligent that you got lost!"

She looked up to see Itachi pinching the bridge of his nose in a sign of irritation and inwardly grinned, glad she had been able to get a rise out of him.

"It's almost sunset; let get something to eat." Of course Genma would be thinking with his stomach.

 _Better than what he_ normally _uses to think._

As they made their way to a small pub that Genma had found earlier Itachi caught her eye, letting her know that she would regret purposefully pushing his buttons. She grinned, knowing full well that regret would be the furthest thing from her mind.

..00..

Two days later Sakura pulled against the cloth that held her hands to the posts of her bed.

She, of course, didn't use full strength to break free; no that would have ruin all the fun.

Itachi braced himself above her with his forearms, and she blew softly at the hair that fell onto her sweat soaked face.

"You know you could undo these, right?"

He smirked down at her. "Of course I could, but then I would miss the lovely sight you make." With that he sat up, making sure to brush against her body as he slowly moved off of her. He gazed down and had she been a less confident woman she would have squirmed, but she simply laid back and waited for him to untie her.

Or for round two, whatever happened first.

"You're beautiful." Okay, she wasn't expecting that.

He finally went to untie her hands and pulled her up, brushing the pink hair out of her face. "I have a solo mission in three days."

"Can you tell me anything?"

He shook his head. "No, telling you that I have a mission is pushing it."

She felt an icy cold hand clamp down around her heart. "One of those?"

She had been privy to Itachi's medical file, and in it was a few details about the types of missions that he had been given in the past. She knew him to be a completely capable shinobi, but that didn't mean that he was immune to injuries.

"I'll return."

She poked him in the chest hard enough that he winced. "You better."

He grinned down at her and caught her lips with his, pushing thoughts of his mission far from her mind.

..00..

"Sakuraaaa. Hello!" She jerked back from the file she had been pouring over, her hand going to her chest.

"Ino! What are you trying to do? Scare me to death?" Her heart rate settled a bit and she took a few deeps breaths.

"It's not like you to get so rattled! What's up with you, Forhead?"

"Nothing, just trying to get some work done." She glared back before turning around and putting the file away. "Unlike some people." She said under her breath.

"I'll ignore that." Ino responded, flipping her blonde hair. "Anyways, what I came up here for is to tell you that an ANBU rescue team is going to be coming in. ETA is about ten minutes."

Sakura sighed before standing up and shedding her lab coat. "Is Tsunade still around?"

Ino followed her as they made their way to the bottom floor. "Yeah, she's the one who sent me to get you."

Sakura felt relief that her mentor would be around for the injured ANBU. She always felt uneasy when the rescue team had to be deployed, and sincerely hoped that it wasn't anyone she knew.

Her mind wouldn't even let her think of the possibility that it could be Itachi.

They just rounded the corner when the team appeared, masks still firmly in place. She couldn't see who was injured, and she was just about to pick up her speed when the Hokage himself stepped in front of her.

"Kakashi-sensei, now really isn't the time to tell me about the kitten you rescued this morning." She went to side step him when he thrust out a hand and caught her by the arm.

"Sakura, I can allow you to participate in this case."

She raised a fine pink eyebrow. "You can't allow me?"

Normally she would have just found a way to go past him, but knowing that Tsunade was already in there made her wait.

"You know the rules: family cannot treat family."

"But you know for a fact that none of my family is active duty and wouldn't be in there."

He slouched a bit. "Well, you see-"

"Ka-Ka-Shi-Sen. Sei. I really don't have time for this."

"And had you been the only one here I would have made an exception, but your not so I have to go by the rules."

"Why are you even here?" She felt her frustration grow and tried hard to keep a lid on it.

"Because I obviously know who's in that room and I know that you wouldn't be able to be, eh, impartial."

"Sensei! Just get to the point so I can go help Tsunade!"

"You can't treat your husband, Sakura."

"Excuse me?" She felt frozen and confused.

"Well, you see, there was some paperwork that should have been filed and it never did make it there and I'm really sorry but I never finished your and Itachi's annulment from your mission and we'll, he's still your husband." She stared, unable to process what he had just said.

"Sakura, Itachi was injured on his mission and because of the Hokage's own laziness I can't let you help with his case. You're his wife, and wives can't treat their husbands unless in an extreme emergency situation." She turned around to gape at Tsunade, who stood covered in blood.

"You can, however go in and see him before we take him to surgery."

With that she hit the floor.


End file.
